Flame cartridge



Oct 1957 I A. J. GRANDY 3,

FLAME CARTRIDGE Filed Dec. 23, 1965 I IO' 28 34 /L I n .Jrae

III/11111111111117 INVENTOR= ANDREW J. GRAN DY ammo, W ATTORNEYS United States Patent v 3,348,484 FLAME, CARTRIDGE Andrew J. Grantly, North Hills, Pa., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Dec. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 516,171 8 Claims. (Cl. 102-32) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to a flame cartridge and more particularly to a flame cartridge consisting of a combustible bullet body which is propelled from a gun tube as a solid mass.

Present day flame throwers consist primarily of a fuel cannister, a pressure storing tank and a hose containing a nozzle and igniter for the fuel. These components are awkward to handle and require field support activities such as re-pressurizing the pressure tank, re-supplying the jelled fuel and cleaning and general maintenance procedures.

In operation, standard flame throwers use a jelled mixture of gasoline and thickener, i.e. aluminum soaps. The jelled mixture is prepared in the field since it breaks down quite rapidly after mixing and must be used immediately. The mixture is loaded into the fuel cannister and the pressure storing tank is pressurized either by compressor or by larger gas bottles to approximately 350 p.s.i. When used, the fuel is forced under pressure through a nozzle system which also contains ignition means for the fuel. Generally, the deployment time cycle for one full load does not exceed ten seconds.

The present invention deals with the elimination of the undesirable features of the flame Weapons in existence today and at the same time improving the salient military characteristics inherent in such weapons.

Threefore, an object of the present invention is the provision of a flame car-tridge having highly accurate fire direction.

Another object is to provide a flame cartridge having no field mixing or pressurization problems.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a flame cartridge having increased range capabilities.

'A still further object is to provide a flame cartridge having point target capability.

Still another object is to provide a flame cartridge having area fire capability.

An additional object is the provision of a flame cartridge having unlimited fuel shelf life.

The above objects as well as others together with the benefits and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon reference to the detailed dscription set forth below, particularly when taken in conjunction with the drawings annexed hereto in which:

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal view of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 shows a launcher for firing the invention.

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a flame cartridge 10, having a combustible bullet body 12, of the polyethylene or other similar thermoplasticgsuch as ethyl cellulose, cellulose nitrate or the like. Said cartridge 10 has a base portion 14 consisting of a primer pocket 16, a propellant pocket 18 and obturator 20. Extending the length of the cartridge 10 is a fuze cord 22. Located in the tip of the cartridge is a front incendiary pocket 24 and abutting the obturator 20' is a rear incendiary pocket 26.

The cartridge 10, consisting of the combustible bullet body 12, is propelled from a barrel 28 (see FIG. 3) as a solid mass. During barrel travel, which results from propellant gas actuation, the incendiary composition in the pocket 26 at the rear is ignited and by the action of the cord 22 the front incendiary composition in the pocket 24 is also ignited. Upon barrel exit the action of both incendiary compositions on the thermoplastic material is such that the material begins to soften and burn. The incendiary composition could be either encapsulated gasoline, sulfur or the like.

Essentially, the material in the bullet body will become viscoelastic and behave similarly to the jelled fuels used in present-day flame throwers. It can be seen that there would be no field handling problems with such a system. Obviously, the bullets can be made in any size with only pressure level of the launching system and recoil mo mentums as criteria.

The cartridge 10', as shown in FIG. 2, is similar to FIG. 1 except for the caseless base construction. The base 14' is combustible thereby completely burning upon firing. The primer pocket 16' is also combustible.

The launcher 30, as seen in FIG. 3, consists of a barrel or gun tube 28, a stock 32, a firing mechanism 34 and a magazine 36. A rear sight 38 is located on the stock 32 and a front sight 40 is located at the front edge of the barrel 38. The magazine 36 is shown containing five caseless cartridges 10. A spring 42 is provided at the lower end of said magazine 36 to provide force to push each cartridge 10' into position in the chamber of the barrel 28 after the cartridge already in the chamber has been fired.

Some of the advantages of this type of flame weapon are as follows:

(1) Highly accurate fire direction, each shot will act as at spotting projectile.

(2) No field mixing or pressurization problems.

(3) Range increase from present 40 meters to approximately 300 to 500 meters dependent on caliber and pressure.

(4) Point target capability.

(5) Area fire capability.

(6) Less bulky.

(7) Light-weight.

(8) Unlimited shelf life of fuel (ammunition).

(9) Reliable, shot-to-shot ballistics performance.

(10) Variable burning characteristics can be achieved by merely selecting bullet body material and incendiaries.

11) High degree of psychological impact on adversarres.

(12) Limitless range capabilities when visualized for APC, tank or other vehicle application.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above techniques. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

I claim:

1. A flame cartridge comprising a combustible bullet body having:

a base portion including therewithin a first pocket,

a primer composition located in said first pocket, a second pocket adjacent said first pocket, at propellant located in said second pocket, an obturator located adjacent said second pocket,

and a body portion connected to said base portion including therewithin,

a third pocket located at a rearward portion of said body portion adjacent said obturator, a fourth pocket located at a forward portion of said body portion, an incendiary composition located in said fourth pocket,

and a fuze cord extending from said second pocket, through said third pocket to said fourth pocket. 2. A cartridge of the type described in claim 1 wherein said base portion and said body portion are combustible. 3. A cartridge of the type described in claim 1 wherein said incendiary composition is encapsulated gasoline.

4. A cartridge of the type described in claim 1 wherein said incendiary composition is sulfur.

5. A cartridge of the type described in claim 1 wherein said body portion is a thermoplastic.

6. A cartridge of the type described in claim 5 wherein said body portion is made of polyethylene.

7. A cartridge of the type described in claim 5 wherein said body portion is ethyl cellulose.

8. A cartridge of the type described in claim 5 wherein said body portion is cellulose nitrate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 197,339 11/1877 COstOn 102-32 784,977 3/1905 BOWly 10232 1,306,407 6/ 1919 Davidson 102-32 3,212,440 10/1965 Quinlan et al. 102-38 FOREIGN PATENTS 18,722 1894 Great Britain.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT F. STAHL, Examiner. 

1. A FLAME CARTRIDGE COMPRISING A COMBUSTIBLE BULLET BODY HAVING: A BASE PORTION INCLUDING THEREWITHIN A FIRST POCKET, A PRIMER COMPOSITION LOCATED IN SAID FIRST POCKET, A SECOND POCKET ADJACENT SAID FIRST POCKET, A PROPELLANT LOCATED IN SAID SECOND POCKET, AN OBTURATOR LOCATED ADJACENT SAID SECOND POCKET, AND A BODY PORTION CONNECTED TO SAID BASE PORTION INCLUDING THEREWITHIN, A THIRD POCKET LOCATED AT A REARWARD PORTION OF SAID BODY PORTION ADJACENT SAID OBTURATOR, A FOURTH POCKET LOCATED AT A FORWARD PORTION OF SAID BODY PORTION, AND INCENDIARY COMPOSITION LOCATED IN SAID FOURTH POCKET, AND A FUZE CORD EXTENDING FROM SAID SECOND POCKET, THROUGH SAID THIRD POCKET TO SAID FOURTH POCKET. 